Astros notes: Inglett debuts in 7-6 loss to Phillies

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Inglett debuts

New infield acquisiton Joe Inglett made his Astros debut Monday, going 0-for-5 with two strikeouts as a designated hitter in a 7-6 loss to the Phillies. Inglett reported to the Astros in time for the game a day after being traded from the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named and two days after the Rays removed the non-roster invitee from major league camp.

“It’s been a roller coaster ride,” Inglett said. “This offseason was a roller coaster ride. It’s for the better. It’s an opportunity, and that’s all you can ask for.”

He said the Astros were in the mix for him this offseason after he was non-tendered by the Brewers, but the Astros went another direction, presumably signing Bill Hall and Clint Barmes to be starting middle infielders and letting the utility spots go.

While he won’t be a DH during the year, Inglett is almost as unlikely to be a starter, barring injury. His role will be as a lefthanded bat off the bench; Inglett led the league in 2010 with 20 hits (in 94 at-bats) as a pinch-hitter. He picked up the skill in Milwaukee from one of the most recognizable utility men of the last decade.

“It was my first time ever being in that situation, and it was nice to have a guy named Craig Counsell in my corner,” Inglett said. “I pretty much shadowed him, and he taught me how to be a pro and how to be a threat off the bench.”

Norris struggles

Like Wandy Rodriguez the day before him, Bud Norris did not get the results he wanted in his final tuneup for the season.

Norris finished the spring with a 7.71 ERA after the Phillies took it to him for seven runs (six earned) in five innings. The exclamation point was a three-run home run off the bat of John Mayberry Jr. on a 2-0 pitch.

“He was strong and sometimes too strong,” manager Brad Mills said. “There were some pitches around the zone early that he didn’t get, but pitching behind in the count really hurt him.”

Like Rodriguez in his four innings Monday, Norris walked four batters, prompting him to admit “I was a little wild at times.” But he said he was healthy, throwing 90 pitches on three days of rest.

The numbers game

With Monday’s loss, the Astros closed spring training on a five-game losing streak and earned the hypothetical No. 1 pick in next year’s Grapefruit League draft with an 11-23 record.

The highs and lows of spring among those with at least a chance to break in to the major leagues:

• Best average: Humbero Quintero, .471 (16-for-33).

• Worst average: Bill Hall, .185 (10-for-54).

• Best slugging: J.R. Towles, .622.

• Most home runs: Carlos Lee/Towles, 3.

• Most RBIs: Brett Wallace, 18.

• Most walks: Hall, 11.

• Most strikeouts: Chris Johnson/Hall, 14.

• Lowest ERA: Enerio Del Rosario, 0.00 in 13.1 innings.

• Highest ERA: Fernando Abad, 9.31 in 9.2 innings.

• Best K/BB ratio: Abad, 10/0 and Wilton Lopez, 6/0.

• Worst K/BB ratio: Ryan Rowland-Smith 7/5.

Odds and ends

Not that he really had to — it had been apparent for more than a week – but Brad Mills publicly named Brett Wallace his starting first baseman on Monday. … Cesar Carrillo will start for Class AAA affiliate Oklahoma City against the Astros and J.A. Happ tonight.